


Two Times Four

by Gravestar14



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, I HAVE SO MANY PLANS, Laughs in writer, Picking up a sword for a friend with a side order of crisis, This should scare you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26864485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gravestar14/pseuds/Gravestar14
Summary: Warriors is conflicted when Artemis asks him to come home and help fight some renegade ex-minions... little does he know, one of his companions possesses a sword that would love to take advantage of that.Or“What happens when another Link begins to become affected by the Four sword?”
Comments: 26
Kudos: 120





	1. This Is Why We Don’t Touch Other Heroes’ Magical Objects...

Warriors sighed, fingering the paper with calloused hands while he leaned on the rock, wondering what to do.  
It was the third or fourth time he’d received one of these letter, labelled ‘urgent’ from Artemis. It was always the same thing. Ganondorf’s or Cia’s old minions were ravaging the land, leaderless and disorganized, but causing destruction nonetheless. She needed his help.  
And yet, he couldn’t quite manage to pack up and head home.

His eyes went out to the camp, to the other heroes he’d been hanging around with and had started to perhaps even call family. They’d been under a constant barrage too: from monsters that had come from seemingly nowhere. Camp after camp of them were wearing on the heroes’ strength, patience, and sanity. He wanted to go back and help his kingdom, but what about his friends? What if something bad happened if he left? He couldn’t bear the idea. And yet he couldn’t bear to think about what was happening at home either, Artemis having to deal with these vagabond minions all on her own.  
So he sort of... stagnated. Stayed where he was. It was easier than having to make a decision.  
After all, nobody can be in two places at once.

Warriors was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. He smiled gratefully as Twilight passed him a bowl of whatever soup or stew that Wild had whipped up today, shoving the letter quickly back in his pack. It was nothing any of them really needed to be troubled about. 

Soon, War’s problems had faded into the easy banter of the camp and he’d forgotten the dissonance inside. At least for a moment. 

...

Tomorrow’s sun rose with another attack. He barely remembered it now. It was just like all the others, really. More monsters, and addition to the already-crippling exhaustion that the heroes faced. He fought relentlessly-not for himself- but to protect them. Perhaps it was the Commander in him. 

This particular attack had occurred when he and Four were out patrolling the fringes of the camp that they’d set up in the heart of these woods. They’d struck up a quiet conversation. But that was before the lizard-creature had jumped out of the tree, pinning his companion to the ground. 

Warriors peripheral vision had caught the glint of the sword as it had been knocked out of Four’s hand. He lunged sideways desperately, ignoring his own fatigue to quickly parry a sword thrust aimed for his companion’s now-undefended chest. The creature was thrown off-guard and he took advantage, quickly giving a thrust of his own which turned the creature to dust. 

He bent down, picking up Four’s sword.

“Here.” he nodded, “Keep a better hold of this next time.”

Four gave him an odd look before grabbing the hilt and nodding. It had seemed like nothing at the time. At least, it had seemed like nothing before the voices started.

It was a few days before he began to realize that something wasn’t quite right. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t pinpointed the cause sooner. But, then again, things do seem that much more simpler in hindsight. 

He had been sitting again at the log when he’d realized that something had changed. Again reading another letter. Again wondering what he could send back to both assure Artemis he was okay and let her know that he couldn’t do what she asked. 

Somewhere in the middle of his wondering, he was handed another bowl of soup that Wild had prepared. Except this time, the one doing the handing was Legend, not Twilight  
“Soups on.” he grumbled, shoving the bowl in Wars’ general direction with a raised eyebrow, “What are you up to anyway?”  
Warriors opened his mouth to respond, but quickly found himself torn over what exactly to say...

~Why is it any of his business?~ one part of him said snarkily, ~We should tell him to buzz off!~  
~That would be rude. He IS giving us food.~ another, saner part said  
~Plus he’s our friend!~ a third demanded  
~Stab! Murder! Steal his kneecaps!~ said another part, to his general alarm 

“Okay,” was all he actually managed to get out, blankly staring at Legend and grabbing the bowl almost mechanically.  
His companion gave him an odd expression, “Are you okay?” he asked suddenly and awkwardly, “You seem.... out of it...”  
Wars snapped himself back into reality, “Of course, sorry just spaced out for a second there!” he smiled, trying to look as normal as possible, even as Legend walked away with a strange expression on his face and one of those voices whispered ~they don’t need to know. They have enough on their plates already....~

...

After the meal, Warriors took a walk to clear his head. Or at least that what he’d hoped that it would do. The whole meal he hadn’t managed to say much. He’d never realized how much effort it takes to make the decisions about what to do and what to say until he had four different options blabbering at him constantly. It had taken all his effort to continue to eat.  
Especially with one voice complaining that the dish wasn’t ~fancy enough~ and needed a ~better garnish~ while another one sniped that ~they were in the woods, how do you think crazy chef dude is going to get a fancy garnish, huh?~

However, the walk, being alone, having no external stimulus to distract his mind from itself… well, that just served to increase the problem. 

~Wow. Running away. Real mature of you.~ the snarky one snarked  
~Leave us alone!~ the worried one sniped back, ~We have a lot on our plate!~  
~Having time to contemplate could help us plan an effective strategy.~ the fancy garnish connoisseur interjected  
~I maintain that we should punch something. Punch a tree! Punch a rock! PUNCH A TREE AND A ROCK AT THE SAME TIME!~ said the alarming one  
~What is your problem?~ the garnish one sighed, ~There is more to life than punching things....~  
~Mhm, sure, like them garnishes, right?~ snarky sniped, earning what Warriors thought was the mental equivalent of a slap.

All the borderline-arguments inside kind of made his head begin to hurt. He bunched his arms around his body, trying to curl inwards and shelter himself as much as possible. As the pressure inside his skull increased, he forced his eyes shut and continued to follow the dirt path. Warriors was close to naming the different voices. It would at least make it less confusing.

“Are you alright, Captain?”  
Warriors was startled out of his firestorm of mental activity by a voice. He turned, meeting the eyes- or rather, the eye- of his companion.  
“Time.” he murmured, relaxing a little, “I’m okay, just... tired.”  
Sleep, yes sleep would help. He was probably just tired after taking night watch two days in a row. He just needed some time, and this would all sort itself out. Yes. That was what would happen. The more he thought about the possibility, the more it made sense. He would sleep, and this would all get better. Just a bit of mental fatigue. He was under a lot of stress, that’s all. He would be fine. It would fix itself.

And to his credit, he did feel tired. His body was aching and sore, his eyes had bags, the whole works. He looked like garbage, and that didn’t make him feel any better. He liked to look good outside. It made him feel good inside too.

“This looks a little more than tired.” Time commented, crossing his arms.  
Warriors looked up at him, prying his bunched-up arms away from himself with great effort, “It’s just been a lot lately. With all the attacks.” He knew he wasn’t lying when he said that. He just wasn’t telling the full truth either.  
Time sighed, “Well, you’re definitely not on night watch today. Do... do you want to talk about it?” the man offered, smiling and looking a lot like the child Wars had once known.  
“I really... I really just want to sleep.” he asked desperately. With every moment, he’d become increasingly convinced that whatever this was had to due with his mismanagement of his sleep schedule. Fixing it would fix it. It had to. He clung to the hope that a good rest would sort this all out because he needed to believe it. He didn’t know what he’d do if this wasn’t nothing. And that scared him.

Yet- despite all he told himself- the last thing he heard before he went to sleep that night was once of the voices saying ~I prefer silk blankets~

...

Spoiler alert, sleep didn’t fix his problems. Sure he felt more well rested, more alert, less tired, more physically functional. But he also heard the voices again. More vividly than before. And now, images and feelings came along with them too. 

~These creatures seem to come in groups, perhaps they have a camp somewhere around here that they’re all dispersing from?~ one voice ventured. This one reminded him of the finer things in life, nights bent over the battlefield map figuring out how to plot an attack, dark soil, and rolling hills of lavender.

~Nonetheless wouldn’t it be dangerous to attack a huge camp if there is one? We have to look out for our allies as well, not just the enemy…~ As the second one responded, he felt a stab of worry for the well-being of his companions, and remembered his responsibility to them. And yet, he felt paralyzed as to what he should do. She- he was sure this one was female for some reason- reminded him of the winds of change that never made him sure which way a battle would turn out, of cerulean leaves blowing off of the trees as they died during fall and he hoped that he wasn’t leading his troops to the same fate. 

~You think too much! Less brain, more stab!~ The rather... angry? Battle-oriented? Bloodthirsty? voice reminded him of a raging fire. She was loud, angry, and tended to take up more of his mental headspace. His brain was called back to moments in the heat of battle, blade slashing through monsters like grass where he felt confidence, thrill, and was completely absorbed in the moment in front of him. The carmine blood dripping off his blade and the embers in the distance.

~Pfff.~ the last voice felt defiant. Always read with a good snipe or comeback, most of his interjections involved being dismissive or downright rude. The smugness of Warrior’s youth was present here. A vast, azure ocean of it.

Warriors felt his actions becoming ever more fragmented along these lines. He shared the strategic one’s insights with the group. Then he didn’t follow his own advice and ended up on Hyrule’s healing bench, his shoulder needing to be patched up due to a wayward enemy strike and his own overconfidence. Snipes slipped out without him even meaning them too as soon as the snarky voice thought of them. Increasingly he became quiet and distant, overcome by sudden and frequent bouts of worry. But everyone was feeling the effects of the constant strain of battle, so nobody really noticed his excessively weird behaviour (and if they did they perhaps attributed it to agitation from all that had been happening). Most of it was internal anyway.

“So there I was, nothing but a stick in hand, facing down a silver-maned lynel in nothing but my underclothes!” Wild started, eyes flaring fittingly with wild energy as he began telling the story.  
~Wheee it’s the same story we’ve heard fifty million times. Soooooo fun.~ Azure muttered boredly from somewhere inside Warrior’s consciousness.  
“What did you do?” Wind asked, eyes wide, rapt with the story.  
~Hey, it’s helping morale.~ Cerulean commented, ~Look at them, they look lighter than the past few days…~  
Wild gestured wildly, continuing “And then I jumped juuuuuuust as the sword came down where I was a second ago, channeling the skills I’d learned from this old crazy monk dude and slammed my stick into his hide straight through the cut I’d made with the sword I’d broken!”  
~FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT F-~ Carmine chanted, clearly entertained.  
“And then? And then?” Wind demanded.  
“And then I grabbed its weapon as it roared out in pain, brandishing it’s own sword against it!” Wild exclaimed triumphantly.  
~I’m sure that silver mane would make a great coat.~ Lavender mused ~It’s a pity he had to just leave it there…~  
“What about you, Warriors?” Wind asked, turning bright-eyed towards him as Wild wrapped up the story.  
“Hm?” he asked, half-distracted.  
“You’ve been in huge battles, right?” the young sailor asked, “You must have some good stories to tell!”  
“Oh yes.” Time laughed, throwing him a knowing nod, “I’m sure he does.”

~GUYS GUYS THEY WANT US TO BE A FUNCTIONING HYLIAN BEING WHAT DO WE DO?~ Cerulean demanded  
~I DON’T KNOW~ Lavender responded in a panic  
~YOU’RE THE THINKING ONE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO THINK OF THIS~ Azure demanded  
Carmine squeed happily ~GUYS GUYS SHUT UP I HAVE A MILLION STORIES~  
~SINCE WHEN DO YOU THINK COHERENTLY?~ Azure asked  
~SINCE THEY ASKED FOR BATTLE STORIES! FIGHTING! THIS IS MY JAM!~ Carmine said, mentally shoving the others aside.

Warriors felt the stories spill out of him, as he spoke of victories and losses, epic fight scenes and confrontations to dwarf even Wild’s. He’d just begun a rendition of one of the battles when Time interrupted him.  
“Y-you uh told me about that.” Time said slowly, “Didn’t you lose a lot of soldiers that day? Is it right to glorify it like that?”  
Warriors felt a crushing sense of guilt. He’d gotten too caught up in the battle, then they’d pushed too far. It had been a hard day. Why was he speaking of it with so much joy? He blinked, shaking his head, “You’re right. Sorry.” he murmured softly. The mood in the camp shifted quickly and he felt suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m going to bed.” he said softly. 

During the storytelling, nobody had noticed his eyes slowly starting to turn red at the edges.

Warriors woke up the next day to the entirely too cheerful chirping of birds that immediately put him in a sour mood. Sky was sitting under a tree plinking his harp along to the melody of birdsong like some countryside idyllic fantasy you’d find in a storybook. It annoyed him. So did the birds. He grabbed his pack and pushed his face into the dirt and the fabric into his ears, hoping to block out the infernal racket. 

It didn’t help. 

“Could you stop?” he demanded, not altogether nicely, “I’m trying to sleep.”  
Sky looked at him with a shocked and slightly hurt expression, “I-It’s actually about noon. I didn’t think it would be a problem.”  
“Noon?!?” he shot up, “Why didn’t you wake me sooner? Where are the others? Why am I still lying here?” he grabbed Sky’s collar, shaking the man, “Where is everyone?”  
Sky looked at him, wounded, and Warriors suddenly had the presence of mind to drop him. “Sorry.” he murmured an apology, “That wasn’t cool.”  
Sky looked at him hesitantly, “It’s... okay? I guess.”  
“No, it isn’t. We’re on the same side and, ugh, I shouldn’t take things out on you. I really am sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I barely feel myself lately. Seriously, that was... I’m just sorry.”  
Sky seemed very confused by this sudden change and nodded, “Uh, okay.” he stared at Warriors, not really knowing what to say next, “Wait. Aren’t your eyes purple?” Sky asked suddenly.  
Wars furrowed his brow, bending down over a pond to study his own reflection. His eyes were multicolour... blue and green.

Sky was about to press him with another question, but the clattering of weaponry in the distance called Wars attention. “Is this another attack?” he asked, gripped by a sudden and desperate sense of anxiety about his companion’s safety, “I need to find them!”  
Frantically, he grabbed his sword from his pack and sprinted off into the forest. As he moved, he felt the other pieces slowly wake up. His sword adjusted himself in his hand. He scanned the trees, looking for his companions. He planned out a strategy- multiple strategies in fact- for all kinds of enemies. He thought of the attitude he’d give them for leaving him at camp.  
Yet, after stumbling through the forest blindly for a while, he found himself utterly confused, lost, turned around, with no sign of any of his friends anywhere. He broke out into a clearing he didn’t recognize and turned around.

~We should have planned out our approach better.~ Lavender said hopelessly.  
Cerulean shuddered, ~There could be so many things happening to them right now! And we couldn’t help them! What if Four drops his sword again?~  
~It’s their fault for leaving us back at camp in the first place.~ Azure stated bitterly  
~WHY ISN’T THERE ANYTHING TO FIGHT HERE?~ Carmine asked angrily, ~I WAS PROMISED A FIGHT!~  
~Do you care about anything but fighting?~ Cerulean whirled on Carmine ~Our friends are out there!~

Warriors collapsed, holding his head. He got a look at his reflection once more, his eyes were now four colours. Purple, blue, red, green. All of them together, widened in horror. 

~Friends. Ha. They just like us because we’re ‘all heroes here’. If we were just us, they wouldn’t care.~ Azure commented bitterly, with a barely unnoticeable hint of sadness in his voice that the others were too enraged to pick out.  
~How can you say that?!?~ Cerulean screamed, ~You’re a real turd you know. Maybe nobody likes you for a reason!~  
~Hey.~ Carmine interjected ~We’re all the same person so maybe you could not?~  
~SHUT UP AND LET ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET US BACK TO CAMP OR GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION~ Lavender yelled.  
~Who says you’re the boss of me?~ Carmine shot back

Warriors heaved, last night’s supper pouring onto the ground. His head was pounding like a forging hammer now, and he could barely find the presence of mind to stand, much less fight. 

~Well he’s the only one with any braincells, so…~ Azure rolled his eyes.  
Carmine growled, ~BATTLE TAKES MANY BRAINCELLS YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS TURD.~  
Lavender just started growling and muttering angrily.  
~Guys, this is getting a little out of hand…~ Cerulean commented, seemingly realizing Warriors plight ~We’re all in pain, don’t you feel it? This isn’t... we need to stop!~

But it was too late. And that place, in the clearing, sunlight beaming down on him, his changed eyes glittering in the pond... that place was where Warriors shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick summary of Wars’ Colours:
> 
> Azure is salty  
> Carmine says ‘smite your enemies kids’  
> Lavender just wants a Silver Lynel Mane coat  
> Cerulean didn’t realize she signed up to be a babysitter
> 
> And Warriors just wants his sanity back


	2. So THAT Happened...

Warriors woke up, staring at the sunshine on his face in the clearing as the rays drifted through the gaps in the leaves and onto his exposed face. He was conscious now. So were Warriors, Warriors, and Warriors.

“Holy crap guys, I think we fricked up.” Cerulean Warriors gasped, brushing dirt and leaves off of her tunic.  
Azure Warriors groaned. He’d taken the stomach pain as they’d split, and had ended up lying on the ground, tunic gradually becoming more soaked in vomit. “Yes. Rather splendidly.” he managed hoarsely.  
Lavender Warriors narrowed his eyes, scanning the trees, “I can still hear the battle in the distance. Perhaps if we move quickly, we may still make it.”  
“Two things; number one- ow- we’re hardly in any condition to- ow- fight anything.” Carmine Warriors groaned, holding her head, “And that should mean more coming from me, because you know I’d love to be there. And number two- ow ow ow- HOW EXACTLY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN THAT WE’RE FOUR PEOPLE NOW?!?!”  
“That’s a good point.” Lavender admitted.  
“That’s a great point.” Azure affirmed.  
“That is a rather splendidly made point.” Cerulean concluded.

The clearing gave way to gradual silence. Cerulean heaved Azure off of the forest floor and kept his head upright as he dry heaved the contents of his stomach out. Her eyes went anxiously to Lavender, who had forced Carmine to sit down so he could have a look at her head. 

After a while, Cerulean broke the silence, “So what are we going to do about this?”  
“I’ve noticed that we all seem to have a different colour scarf.” Lavender commented offhandedly, “Mine is purple- a rather flattering colour, by the way- you have green, Cerulean. Carmine, yours is red and Azure kept the blue one apparently. Perhaps this is some sort of divine way to differentiate us or something.”  
“Garbage.” Carmine complained, “We could TOTALLY just switch scarves if we really wanted to.”  
“Alright. Give me yours.” Azure asked, “I’d love to prove Lavender wrong.”

Carmine and Azure switched scarves.

And the scarves switched colour.

“GOSH DARN IT!” Carmine cursed as Lavender smiled smugly in her direction.

“Another thing,” Cerulean began slowly, “Half of us are female…”  
Lavender shrugged, “I doubt that’s much of a surprise. We’ve always felt comfortable expressing femininity.”  
“I think what she’s trying to say is that’s going to be another awkward thing to explain. On top of a million other awkward things. Heck, I don’t even know how this happened biologically-speaking. How on earth do we even explain this? Like I’m sure they’ll understand about the self-expression part but the ‘I-got-split-into-four-people-and-two-of-them-are-women?’ Or I AM LITERALLY FOUR DIFFERENT PEOPLE NOW? That’s going to be a bit harder to explain.” Azure pointed out.  
“Maaaaaaagic.” Carmine wiggled her fingers in Azure’s face. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”  
Azure batted her hand out of the way, “I’m serious. What are they going to think? About all this? Maybe they will understand, but maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll think we’ve gone magically crazy. Heck, we’re not even sure we HAVEN’T gone magically crazy.” 

The group went silent.

“So the question remains. What do we do?” Cerulean asked tiredly. “Azure is right. We don’t… we don’t know how people are going to react. And they already have enough to deal with.”  
“Enough to deal with…” Lavender echoed slowly, “Enough…”  
“I can see those mental gears turning!” Carmine exclaimed triumphantly, “What you got strategist-man?”  
“Artemis still needs our help.” Lavender continued slowly, “And so do our friends. Before, we couldn’t do both, but now…”  
“Now we can!” Cerulean echoed, eyes gleaming.  
“Yes!” his eyes lit up in the way a scientist’s do when they’ve just discovered the answer to the world’s largest puzzle, “Azure has to go back to the camp- there’s no way to explain a scarf change so quickly, or a gender change for that matter- and he can provide support, fight, help them there.”  
“Okay.” Azure agreed, “But who will go help Artemis?”  
“It should be Lavender.” Carmine ventured, “I’m sure his strategic skills would be essential in stopping these attacks, and he’ll be the best at fixing the problems there.”  
Azure tipped his head, “Agreed. Ours is a land of strategy, isn’t it?”

“But what will me and Carmine do?” Cerulean asked slowly, looking at Carmine and then the others, “I can’t just sit here…”

“WAIT!” Carmine banged her fist against the bark of a tree, getting the others’ attention, “Lavender, you said that you were wondering if these monster creepos had a camp somewhere around here, right?”  
“Yeah.” he answered, “I mean it would make sense since the attacks have been occurring so frequently. But the group obviously can’t go looking for it since they’re swamped by the little attacks…”  
“So me and Cerulean go look for it! That way we can protect the camp- and Azure- before anything even gets there!” Carmine exclaimed enthusiastically.  
“YES!” Cerulean affirmed, then looked at Carmine with a puzzled expression, “But since when do you care?”  
Carmine laughed, “I don’t! I just knew that would make you care and I want to fight them! >:D”  
Cerulean sighed. 

“So it’s agreed then.” Lavender nodded to his companions, “We help everyone.”  
“And tell no one.” Azure emphasized.  
“We fight!” Carmine brandished her sword.  
Cerulean placed a hand upon her hilt as well, “We’re the first line of defense now. We must protect them all.”


	3. To The Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an important note...  
> The next few chapters will follow each of the colours’ individual journeys, but they occur over roughly the same period of time.

The swirling purple portal matched Lavender’s scarf.  
It struck him how similar the two tones were as he stared into the swirling portal that led home. He’d agreed- they’d all agreed- that he was the best for this job. The strategist was to go home and help with strategic matters. It made sense. And yet- standing here on a precipice of sorts- he couldn’t quite explain why he felt so afraid to take the final step through the doorway.

It was home- the place he belonged. The place he’d always known he’d eventually return to. And it was in danger. He needed to go.  
And yet he still couldn’t quite manage.  
Lavender shook himself and scoffed. He was beginning to sound like Cerulean. He was supposed to be the decisive, sure one. The one with the strategy. So he forced himself to spur his horse on and ignored the slight tremor in his hands as he led the reins on the road homewards. 

…

The thing that struck Lavender the most on the way to the castle was the destruction. Artemis had called these groups ‘renegade’ and the attacks ‘sporadic’ in her letters, but he began to wonder if that had been underplayed. The land didn’t look- not anymore- like one that had been at peace.  
Now, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been under Cia or Ganondorf. But he still knew the look of the patchwork jobs that followed the destruction of buildings, could see the evidence of scorched foundations layered under the cities, see the chips in the stone as stark evidence of a weapon strike.  
He wondered how these leaderless minions had managed to organize themselves so quickly, or with such efficiency. Should they have been more diligent making sure they were stamped out? The kingdom’s resources had been so strained after the war that it had seemed like a mistake to pursue every little henchmen. But perhaps that thinking in itself was a mistake.

After all, the darkness wasn’t gone, even if Ganondorf was. 

Someone else could have easily risen to take it, or someone could be rising and the monsters could have reason to believe they could attack again. Either way, it didn’t spell out good things for the kingdom. He cursed himself for not coming sooner.

“Captain!” a soldier called, stirring Lavender’s attention out of his thoughts, “You’re here!” the youth smiled broadly, “She said you’d come.”  
Lavender offered back a subtle smile, unsure of how to respond, “Of course. Where is she?”  
“Making camp about a half-day’s ride from here.” the soldier responded, “I’ve been asked to escort you there.”  
Lavender’s brow furrowed, “Is that really necessary?”  
The soldier’s mood changed, “I’m afraid so. It’s becoming increasingly dangerous around these parts. I’ll fill you in on the way.”

...

As they began riding, the story poured out “We’re not sure exactly when it started. A few months ago, perhaps, when the first supply train was raided. The monsters and henchmen left over from the war had been sticking to the outskirts, not really trying anything before that. And then suddenly they were. We thought it an isolated incident at the start, but then the attacks grew more frequent and more bold. Villages are taking to arming themselves for fear of attack. They seem to come out of nowhere... so we thought- then- that it was just them realizing they were beat and lashing out. But then we started to find strange things. Reports began to come in of somewhat organized leadership and camps. Statues of the Goddess in all of the sites were vandalized or broken. Due to these troubling reports, Her Majesty began to investigate more thoroughly. Eventually, we managed to break up one of their camps. In the middle, there was an altar of sorts. Inscribed upon it was the triforce, the top triangle shaded. Printed around the base was the word ‘soon’... over and over and over.”  
Lavender’s eyes went wide as dinner plates, “Why didn’t she call me sooner?” he hissed, “If the situation had gotten so dire.” he felt a crushing wave of guilt. He’d put his companions first... what had the kingdom had to suffer because of that decision?  
The soldier shrugged, “No idea. She gave us the impression you were off doing something important. If you really want to know, I suppose you should ask her yourself.”

As if perfectly on cue, they topped the next hill and Artemis’ camp greeted them like a sprawled hug made out of tents. Lavender paused at the top of the hill for a moment as his companion rode out in front.  
“Are you coming?” they asked.  
Lavender sighed, spurring his horse once more, “Yeah.”

The camp seemed to change entirely in mood as Lavender rode in. Soldiers popped their heads out of the tents and smiled. Groups sitting around campfires became more jovial, going back to telling stories and laughing with newfound fervour. He was barely a few feet in before Linkle came and bodily tackled him off the horse with a very enthusiastic hug.  
“You’re finally here!” she commented delightedly, ruffling his hair, “What took you so long?”  
Lavender tried to squirm out of her grip, “Not the hair!” he begged.  
Linkle just laughed, dragging him up, “I’ll take you to Artemis. She’s been waiting, you know.”  
Lavender smiled apologetically, letting Linkle drag him through the camp like a puppy on a leash. She was taking him towards the largest tent. Wrapping him in a headlock, she adjusted her arms to free one and threw the tent flap open with a flourish.  
“LOOK WHO’S HERE!” she exclaimed entirely too loudly.

A group of generals and Artemis turned to face the doorway, apparently having been distracted from what looked to be a rather important meeting.  
Though, for once, Artemis didn’t look upset about it. In fact, she looked rather relieved when she saw him, “Ah, Link.” she sighed happily, “It’s good to see you, my friend.”  
Lavender managed to free himself from Linkle, dusting off his clothes and fixing his hair. He offered a tired smile, “Yeah, you too.”  
Artemis gestured, waving the generals out. Lavender frowned at this. Surely strategizing now was of the utmost importance. “I didn’t mean to interrupt any important planning… please don’t feel like you have to stop what you’re doing. I can wait.”  
Artemis strode over confidently, “Nonsense. We have much to catch up on and it’s late anyways. Strategy can wait until tomorrow. Now tell me, how have you been? How are the other heroes?”  
Lavender blanched, “I- um, well- if you don’t mind, I’ve been riding almost nonstop and I’m actually… really tired? Would you mind if I rested first? It is, as you mentioned, pretty late.”  
Artemis looked disappointed for an instant, but shook it off quickly, “No, of course, I understand. It must have been a long journey. Go ahead and rest. Talk AND strategy can wait until tomorrow.”  
Lavender smiled gratefully.  
“Linkle can show you to an empty tent. Please eat something before you rest, though. It’s no good to go to bed on an empty stomach.”  
Linkle clicked her boots, saluting, “Aye aye.” the girl exclaimed jokingly with a wink, “Leave it to me!”  
She wrapped her arms around Lavender again, dragging him off to somewhere else in the camp. He was too exhausted (both emotionally and mentally) to protest, so he just let her deposit him in a tent. 

Lavender sat himself down awkwardly on the sleeping mat. It was so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time. He began shoving some cold stew into his mouth -as per Artemis’ wise suggestion- as slowly as he could manage.  
He wasn’t really tired. 

…

The next day rose with a harsh sun. Lavender had finally managed after more than a few hours of lying in bed with his eyes wide open. Now, (having been only half-rested) the morning glare cut into his tired eyes, whose irises complained that they hadn’t spent enough time behind closed lids.  
He stirred reluctantly, stretching and twisting underneath his thin blanket. Blinking at the scratchy fabric, pause for a second. Realization dawned in him, and he dropped back into bed, closing his eyes tight. He’d forgotten where he was for a moment.  
Home.

Despite protest from his sluggish form, he forced himself up and poked his head out of his tent. Contrary to what he initially thought, it wasn’t morning at all. The sun was already high in the sky. About noon? he guessed. He’d slept longer than he thought. He might not have felt tired, but he’d clearly needed the rest.  
“Sir!” a soldier saluted, “Artemis and the generals are waiting in the main tent.”  
Lavender cursed under his breath, “Did I oversleep?”  
“A little.” they admitted, “But Her Majesty understands.”  
Lavender rushed to get ready, shoving his armour on haphazardly. He hated being one to shirk out on his duty. When he had finally reached the tent, the meeting was thankfully still occurring.  
“Sir.” one of the generals greeted him, “Good to see you.”  
Artemis smiled, “Shall we fill you in?”  
“Yes, please.” Lavender asked, “I hope you’ll forgive me for my lateness.”  
Artemis laughed, “It seemed you weren’t kidding about being tired, it’s fine. Now, let’s fill you in on the attacks and the scale we've been looking at recently…”

The meeting went rather smoothly, and Lavender was thankful for that small blessing with everything that had gone so sideways recently. He felt more relaxed, falling back into his old role with ease. Suggest, discuss. Strategy. It was simple, easy and it soothed him. It also made sense.  
He liked things to make sense.

When Artemis finished, and called ‘dismissed’, he moved to leave with the generals. As he reached the doorway, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Once a soldier, always a soldier eh?” Artemis asked, chuckling, “You don’t need to go! We still haven’t caught up!”  
He paused awkwardly at the door, “Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry.” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  
As the rest of the generals filed out, he half wished one of them would say they had something terribly important for him to do so he could avoid the conversation he’d been dreading since he’d first stepped through the portal.  
“Sit down!” Artemis asked, amusement sparkling in her eyes, “You’re acting like a caged tiger.”  
He smiled and sat next to her, fingers gripping the arms of the chair entirely too tightly.  
“Now, how have you been?”  
“Well enough.” he responded dismissively.  
“That’s.. good.” Artemis continued, “And how are the other heroes?”  
“Pretty cool too.” he saw her expression shift as he paused for a moment, realizing that she wouldn’t be satisfied with that answer, “Oh, young Link is grown up now. It’s kind of… weird.”  
Her eyes lit up, “Really? What’s he like now?” a smile crossed her lips, “I remember he used to give you all kinds of trouble.”  
“Trouble is a mild way of putting it...” Lavender laughed nervously.  
Artemis rolled her eyes, slapping him playfully, “Link! I’m being serious”  
“Well… he IS a lot more responsible. He’s…” Lavender struggled for the right words, “Sort of a leader to us in a way I suppose.”  
“Oh that’s what you meant by weird.” Artemis twirled her hair absentmindedly, “It must be quite the role-reversal.”  
“It is, in some ways.” he pondered this, “But in other ways it’s exactly the same.”  
“That must be nice.” Artemis smiled, “Knowing you can count on those other heroes to help you when you need them to.” 

There was a long silence.

“Oh, yeah.” Lavender said after a while of Artemis staring at him expectantly. “Of course. I- um- thought you knew that because you said it.”  
“Well, yes.” she looked confused, “But I thought you could expand on it? Tell me more about the others, maybe. Did you ever find Marin’s Link? The one she spoke about from that dream-world?”  
Lavender shook his head, “If I do know them, they haven’t ever talked about it.”  
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, “It’s just… I don’t know where to start. I mean, about the others.”  
“Anywhere… who do you hang out with the most, maybe? Or least?”  
Lavender considered this, “I end up hanging out with Legend a lot. Not entirely by choice though.”  
“Legend? I thought all your names were Link.”  
“Oh, yeah but that gets a little confusing so we kind of have nicknames.”  
“What’s yours?” she asked curiously, “Ooooh what’s young Link’s?”  
“I’m La- Warriors.” Lavender caught himself, “And young Link is Time.”  
“Fitting.” she smiled, about to open her mouth for another question.

“Zelda!” a soldier called, bursting into the tent, “They’re attacking again, the village west of here!”  
“Oh no,” Artemis gasped, grabbing her weapon, “We have to go Link! Save this for another time?”  
“Sure.” Lavender tried to look apologetic, but inside he breathed a sigh of relief.

…

The next few days saw Lavender throw himself relentlessly into his work. He stayed up more than a few long nights over the strategy table. He planned, plotted and schemed. He worked strategy.  
And the army certainly benefited. 

The attacks were stopped sooner, the destruction limited, more soldiers came home. 

And yet, it became the general consensus that something was different about the captain. Something was wrong. They could start with the fact that his scarf wasn’t the right colour, but that was just superficial. There missed his pre-battle pep-talks. He didn’t have the same fury on the battlefield. Instead of exchanging banter with the soldiers, he would just smile tiredly and accept the barbs. It was almost as if they’d only brought a piece of him home.  
And whenever anyone tried to ask him about this, Lavender would dodge the questions however he could. “I’m tired” he’d say one day. “I’m worried for the kingdom.” another. “Sorry, just distracted.” a third. It was getting tiresome.

The person who noticed it the most was Artemis. There was no more openness, no more ‘tell me how you feel’. And she could tell he was upset. She could tell something was up. And yet, he was different with her. Closed. He avoided hard topics however he could. She wasn’t sure what to do anymore.

So she dragged him back to the castle. Perhaps a while there in a more familiar environment will do him good, she thought. Perhaps he’s just in a little funk and needs time to get over it. Perhaps he misses his companions. But she didn’t really know. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t really know.  
And that was equal parts frustrating and scary.

As for Lavender, he was feeling increasingly claustrophobic. He didn’t know how to give them what they wanted. How could he know, really? After all he was only a piece of the puzzle. He did what he could and tried his best, throwing himself into what he was good at- strategy- in an effort to satisfy them. Yet nothing seemed to help. In fact, his overworking himself only served to make them even more worried.  
But the castle was a welcome change. He enjoyed the opulence, the fashion of the palace. The parties. It made him relax a little. He could chat endlessly about the weather, about the quality of the food. He was in his atmosphere. 

Artemis- however- wasn’t. She had just travelled back here in the hopes of giving him some relaxation and hopefully helping him somewhat. She herself had no taste for talking about nothing meaningful for hours. She preferred the company of scholars and scribes, who could have thoughtful discussions.  
But she tried to tolerate it for a little while. Because she could tell it helped.

Until she couldn’t anymore.

Lavender saw her storm out and dithered for a while over his cup of sparkling water whether or not to follow. He sighed. It was what all of us parts would do if we were together, he thought, it is what Cerulean would do.  
So he followed her. Out into the garden, where she was screaming and slamming her fists into a tree trunk in frustration.  
“Are you okay?” he asked slowly, a bit fearful  
“DO I LOOK OKAY?” she shot back.  
“No.” he sat down on a stone bench, swallowing hard, “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”  
She brushed a wild strand of hair out of her face, “Do you? Want to tell me what’s going on?” t his shocked expression, she scowled, shaking her head, “Don’t play games with me ‘Warriors’. You’ve been acting strange ever since you got here. And we haven’t really talked… I mean really talked… since you got here. We used to… we used to tell each other everything.”

“I’m sorry.” Lavender offered, “I just- you said things were hard here, so I’ve been trying to focus on making that better.”  
Artemis laughed mirthlessly, “That’s what you don’t seem to get. I don’t need you for strategy, or for army stuff. In reality, me and the generals can handle that ourselves. But it has been hard- as you put it- and I missed having you by my side. I missed that support.”  
Lavender widened his eyes. He had an earth-shattering moment of thinking. Thinking, they shouldn’t have sent him. That they had really needed Cerulean. That they had really needed her caring, steady hand. Not him.  
“But you haven’t been doing anything.” Artemis continued, “Not for me, not for the army. They used to love you. Now you’re just another cold general. And I thought, maybe, that something was wrong. That you just needed some… time. I thought you’d be better at the castle. But you just got further away from me.”  
“Y-you came here for me?” he asked, confused as to what the logical benefit of that was.  
“Yes! You know that the parties and that stuff isn’t my favourite. You know.” she sniffed, “But you don’t seem to care at all do you? Anymore?”

At that moment, Lavender Warriors could have said a million things. He could have said ‘I felt guilty for not coming sooner and that’s why I threw myself into my work’. He could have said ‘I got myself split into four pieces and this is only a quarter of me so that’s why I’ve been acting weird.’ He could have said ‘Of course I still care, I’m just struggling with showing it right now.’ Any of those things would have been good. 

But Lavender Warriors didn’t quite know how to say any of those things. 

Artemis called him cold, but that wasn’t quite accurate. Lavender Warriors felt just as much as everyone else. The difference was that emotion confused him. It didn’t make sense. And that made him uncomfortable. As such, he had no idea how to talk about his feelings or deal with others’. He was superficial, because he couldn’t handle what was beyond that.

So he just said, “Do you want me to leave?” 

And that was the last thing that she’d wanted to hear. 

And because she didn’t know what was going on. Because she didn’t know if she could trust him anymore. Because she was upset, she demoted him right there. On the spot. Until ‘he got his head screwed on straight’. 

And because he didn’t know how to stay without his work, he ran. Because he couldn’t handle what had just happened, he mounted his horse and rode far enough into the countryside that he could pretend that it was the rain on his cheeks and not his tears. Because he didn’t know what to do alone, he found his way back to the portal.

“I’m sorry, me.” he whispered to his other parts from far away, eyes still stinging (it was the wind- he’d been riding too fast, he told himself), “I’ve failed.” 

And the darkness slipped through the portal after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,   
> I realize it’s been awhile since the last update, so I just wanted to assure everyone I am still working on this! However, school’s been on me a lot lately, so I don’t foresee any updates until around Christmas break.  
> Have a happy holiday season everyone, and see you at the next update! :D


	4. Under The Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, occurs roughly at the same time as the last and next chapters :)

The camp was bigger than Cerulean thought it would be. Though, she supposed that Lavender would have been the better one to accurately surmise the amount of monsters. Her skill sets lay elsewhere, at protecting people when they’d found the battle and at being a good leader to troops. Or at least that’s what she thought. Either way, there was none of that here. Instead it was just her and Carmine, and about a hundred monsters.

“Why do you suppose so many are gathering here like this?” Cerulean asked Carmine, turning to her red-scarfed companion.  
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Carmine responded in her typically unhelpful fashion, “Let me stab them already.”  
Cerulean pinched the bridge of her nose, “We should go in with some sort of a plan at least. We may not have Lavender, but it doesn’t take a tactician to tell that running in there right now head-on would be suicide. We should wait until some go on patrol or something, maybe? Pick them off that way?”  
“You don’t sound very sure of that Miss Leader.” Carmine stated, “And I maintain that I could surprise them. I bet I could stab quite a few before they realized what’s what.”  
“T-that’s still not a good idea.” Cerulean implored, “There’s a hundred! And one of you!”  
Carmine paused, looking deep into Cerulean’s green eyes, “Two of us. You meant two of us, didn’t you?”  
“Oh yes, of course.” Cerulean verified, but the slip-up had nonetheless said quite a few things, and the two of them were silent for a long time. 

...

It took far too long- or at least it seemed that way to the Carmine- for some monsters to finally break off from the camp and head in another direction. She didn’t wait for Cerulean’s instruction to go off after them, instead bolting in their direction quickly. Her sword was already unsheathed.   
Cerulean ended up running after her, caught behind as her overactive mind caused her to hesitate, doubting the plan once again.   
Carmine- on the other hand- didn’t understand what seemed to be a constant stream of dithering coming from the green scarf next to her. Battle was simple to her. They had an enemy to defeat. She would do it.

Carmine fell upon the monsters like a ravaging inferno. There were seven of them, and two fell to the ground before the others had even looked over at her. Another had a sword through its chest before the shock had worn off. Two more before the others had the presence of mind to reach for their horn and call for backup.   
Before the monster could blow, Cerulean blasted out of the forest, slicing the beast’s arm off and punching her blade through the last creature.  
“What took YOU so long?” Carmine asked, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, “I almost had them before you even got here.”  
“They would have called for backup if I hadn’t.” Cerulean sighed, “You should really pay attention to which ones can call the others.”  
“That’s why YOU’RE here.” Carmine laughed, exhilarated from the battle, “To take care of things. I just fight.”  
Cerulean sighed, beginning to rifle through the monster’s packs for information, “I suppose.” she pulled a worn map out of the monster’s bag, “Hey. This is a map to the camp!”  
Carmine snatched it from her, “What? Let me see!”   
“See,” Cerulean pointed, “That’s the tree we were sitting by, the clearing where we split… and that campfire… Wild’s cooking pot?”  
“So?” Carmine frowned, tossing the map to the ground, “They’re fighting us. Big deal. We already knew that.”  
“No, no, you don’t understand!” Cerulean gasped, “This means they’re targeting us! How did they even know we’d be there considering how many different worlds we’ve jumped through lately?”  
Carmine pondered this, “That’s… a good question now that you mention it.”  
Cerulean buried her hands in her hair, “Oh no! What are we going to do? Our friends are there! Azure is there! Ohmygosh what would happen if one of us died? What if we could never get back together?”  
Carmine took a step back, looking at Cerulean with eyes narrowed suspiciously, “You’re jumping to a lot of quick and panicky solutions. Look, they didn’t get attacked today because of us hopefully. We can thin the herd here, and then trust Azure and the others to throw their weight back there.” Carmine banged her fist against the rock, “Just get AHOLD OF YOURSELF. We can’t do jack for anyone if you sit here panicking and worrying, and I’m not good at this whole ‘comforting’ business. Get yourself together and let’s move. I think I see more monsters coming. Probably to check on where their buddies went.”  
Cerulean sighed, forcing out a strained breath. Her chest was tight and her mind was swirling with the possibilities of what could happen to their teammates, but she pushed it down. Maybe ‘get ahold of yourself’ wasn’t the most eloquent way to put it, but Carmine was right. She wouldn’t help anyone paralyzed like this. So she followed Carmine, glad someone else was making the decisions for once.   
There was so much weight when she had to be the one to do it... as she often did. There was so much worry that she’d made the wrong turn. 

…

Unlike their companions back at the camp, Carmine was built for this life. Fight, run, a quick catnap, and she was back and fresh for the next battle. She was a fire, hardwired for devastation against anyone who would oppose her. Three or four small groups in, and she hadn’t even broken a sweat yet. 

This made Cerulean quite nervous.

Unlike Carmine, Cerulean was all slow planning. Methodical thinking-through. Not strategy, like Lavender, but sense. Thought before action. That was what protected people from impulsive strategy and rabid bloodthirst. Cerulean was Warriors care, his hesitation, the empathy and smiling reassurances. And ultimately, the inevitable panicked worry that a leader is making the wrong decision because everything is resting on their shoulders and the pressure comes with responsibility. Cerulean was the responsibility, the ethical and moral centre… and the guilt. For all the perceived failures. 

Carmine’s glorious days of battle were Cerulean’s days of walking through the ruin afterwards and finding those whose families needed to be told that they were gone. 

Cerulean’s moments of restraint were Carmine’s moments of restless energy, frustrated with being caged. 

This was all well and good when they were one person… after all the opposing ideals would balance themselves out and drag the whole person closer to more well-rounded middle ground. 

This was a problem when they were not. 

“I told you to strike faster!” Carmine screamed, her feet pounding against the dirt path and away from the twenty monsters following.  
“I told YOU to pay attention to the ones that were carrying horns!” Cerulean sniped back, glancing behind them, “Well at least they won’t be focused on the others now…”  
“WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN THAT!” Carmine demanded, taking a quick side route through a stream, which splashed water in Cerulean’s face when she followed. The monsters struggled to follow, and the women were able to put some distance between themselves and the horde behind. 

“Come on!” Cerulean gasped, vaulting herself into a tree, “Up here!”  
She extended a hand downwards and hauled Carmine up into the thick foliage just as the monster’s broke through the underbrush underneath where they’d hidden themselves. Cerulean twisted her hands together and prayed to Hylia that they hadn’t seen the two women climb up through the thick tangle of branches.   
There were a few moments of tense silence as the monsters looked around, glancing feverishly for the direction that their prey had gone. Carmine and Cerulean looked at each other, holding their breath.

A sudden snap.

The sound of a living thing- probably a deer- from the northwest.

And the monsters were gone.

Cerulean let out the breath she’d been holding in, shutting her eyes tight. They were safe for now. And yet not. The monsters knew that their camp was under attack now. They would be guarding it better, being more careful. But at least they were alive. She moved to climb out of the tree.  
“Shh, no.” Carmine whispered, pointing emphatically in another direction, “They left a scout or something.”  
Cerulean peered delicately around Carmine, into an area that she’d been blind to previously (due to the positioning of her companion). There was indeed, a single monster. This one was gangly, and looked around with a nervousness and skittishness that said ‘I haven’t done this before’. 

Cerulean quickly ruled that this must be a younger specimen. Carmine quickly ruled that they shouldn’t be hard to defeat.

Before Cerulean could say anything, Carmine had worked her way out to an overhanging branch of the tree, balancing delicately upon the wood. With nothing but a breeze to signify her motion, she dropped onto the young monster, driving its face down into the dirt and driving her sword downwards.  
It was over as soon as it had begun.

Cerulean dropped out of the tree wordlessly, looking in disbelief at the monster's body, “Wha- why?” she struggled to make out words through her shock.  
“Shut up.” Carmine said quietly, fire in her eyes,”We run this way, away from where they ran.”  
Carmine bolted off, and in a few moments was nothing more than bootprints in the underbrush. Cerulean didn’t want to be left behind, so she followed mutely, still stricken.   
They went through the dense woods as quietly as they could, stepping softly over the stones in the stream they’d crossed hurriedly not so long ago. And yet it seemed like forever. Cerulean followed behind Carmine, but inside her heart was boiling over. They could have just as easily knocked the poor creature out, or snuck around them. It was small. Why did she have to kill it?  
Her companion was reckless, Cerulean surmised, she can fight but she can’t control the fight. She is the barbarism, Cerulean thought. The spirit of war. Everything that twisted Cerulean’s insides with guilt and regret and loss. 

Carmine missed all of this. She was just focused on getting away, on living to fight another day. She didn’t notice how upset Cerulean was until they’d gotten a fair distance away from the monsters that were running in the opposite direction. When Cerulean stopped, digging in her heels as if to say ‘I’m not going to follow any longer’.   
Carmine realized the footsteps behind her had stopped after she’d run a bit longer. She huffed angrily, turning around to see nothing there. For a moment, she considered leaving her insufferable companion. Then she sighed and turned around, backtracking until she found Cerulean again.  
“What?” Carmine snapped, “We have to get going.”  
“What was that back there? There was one monster, a young one too. You didn’t need to kill it.”  
Carmine stopped dumbfoundedly, “It would have alerted the others when it woke up if I’d knocked it out. Weren’t you just telling me to pay attention to that?”  
“Yes, but we could have snuck around it!” Cerulean demanded, “But you just killed it without a second thought… like it was nothing to you! Isn’t life something?”  
“You weren’t complaining when I was fighting all those groups that were going to attack our friends.” Carmine observed.  
“But that was one creature, and a weak one too… what difference would it have made?”  
“You never know. Besides, it’s a monster. We don’t know if they age or have ‘young ones’ like we do or even think beyond hunting people.”  
“It wasn’t helping anyone! You just killed it… what… for sport or something?”  
Carmine’s eyes widened with rage, “So THIS is what this is about.”   
“So what is what about?” Cerulean demanded, “You killed that poor, young defenceless creature!”  
“Oh NOW you’re reframing things!” Carmine shot back, “It was hardly defenceless.”  
“Still!”  
“Still what? Still I should have not killed it? Even if it had put our lives in more danger? Even if it had put our friend’s lives in danger?”  
“One monster wouldn’t have made any difference.”  
Carmine was deathly quiet for a moment.  
“You’re not fooling anyone, Cerulean.” she hissed dangerously, “I was you. We were one. You can try and tell me that this is about me, but it’s not. It’s about you. And your guilt.”  
“About ME?!?” Cerulean demanded violently, “You’re the one who’s battle-hungry and bloodthirsty!!!”  
“Ah, there it is.” Carmine laughed maliciously, “I was waiting for that one.”  
“Do you even think? Does life mean NOTHING to you?!?” Cerulean gasped, fuming now, “Or do you enjoy knowing you’ve cut something off from any more experiences, from ever drawing another breath?”

There was a long silence as Carmine rose up like an adder over Cerulean, looming even though their physical heights were the same, “I won’t apologize.” she spat, “I won’t apologize for being how I am. You think I don’t care? I do. Of course I do. It’s just been blunted.”   
Carmine took a deep, heaving breath as if she was churning fire in her lungs, “I AM THE ONE who had to keep fighting when the battlefield was slick with blood. I AM THE ONE who had to keep going while our allies were crumbling around us. I AM THE ONE who couldn’t afford to stop and be sad because if I was, we would have died, they would have died, and Ganondorf would have won. I AM THE ONE who had to fight when everything was screaming inside and you were off being sad and disgusted because people were dead. I AM THE ONE who fought the war.” Carmine was screaming now, “SO you can get the fuck off your soapbox because you know what doesn’t help when you’re knee deep in mud and body parts? The so-called ‘leader’ being indecisive. Because every moment you waste is a moment the enemy can take advantage of. Pardon me for being crude, grey, and not up to your precious moral standards, but I’m the one who ACTUALLY HAS TO DO THINGS while you’re sitting there dithering.”  
Cerulean’s mouth was agape now, wide with shock and perhaps the deep and horror-ridden realization that Carmine was right.  
“You can try and pretend you’re better than me, but you’re not. We’re the same person you idiot. And all your ethics seem to do is make you completely incapable of making a decision. Tell me how that is supposed to help our friends if you sit there and wonder about the best course of action as the monsters kill them all.”

Cerulean felt the words sink into her like daggers. Suddenly all her worries and fears were put to voice. Everything she’d ever wondered herself. A crushing wave of guilt washed over her. She was the leader. She wasn’t supposed to be childish like this, picking fights with her allies. With herself.   
She’d just had three other parts to help her cope with the guilt before, and didn’t know how to manage it herself. Alone.

Cerulean was about to murmur an apology when an arrow whizzed by her vision, implanting itself solidly in Carmine’s shoulder with a sickening thud. 

The monsters had found them again.

Cerulean’s heart sank. If she hadn’t started this argument, they wouldn’t have caused enough noise to summon the monsters back to their location. This was all her fault, once again. She was really good at that.   
The only thing that saved her from her normal well of guilty guiltiness and indecisive dithering was the knowledge that Carmine was hurt. She drew her own sword, and another she’d picked off of a monster before.   
“You’ll have to go through me to get to her, busters.” Cerulean demanded.

This was really why Cerulean was a good leader. Because the second someone threatened- truly threatened, not one of her mental-perceived threats- her command, friends, or family... time would stop. Everything else in Cerulean’s mind was shoved aside, with only one command left.  
Save them.

Carmine was the one who’d fought the war. Lavender had planned it. But Cerulean had run the rescue missions. And led the soldiers. And heartened them when all hope seemed lost.  
There was a reason for that.

Cerulean fell upon the monsters like a raging hurricane. Her and Carmine were the eye, and everything else was swirling chaos. Carmine ripped her scarf off and wrapped it around her shoulder as the monsters momentarily hesitated; they looked at Cerulean as if thinking ‘I thought the report said this one doesn’t do much fighting’. 

“Whoo-hoo!” Carmine laughed, as if they hadn’t just been ripping each other apart a few minutes ago, “Where was THIS when we were fighting all those other groups?”  
“Shut up and don’t die, okay.” Cerulean demanded in an authoritative tone, “We’ll get through this.”   
“Darn right we will!” Carmine’s eyes glittered, “Fight me you little pig-nosed friggers! I'm just as deadly with one arm!” 

And then they fought. Truly fought. This wasn’t like before. Cerulean wasn’t trailing behind anymore. They were twin spirits, who knew each other’s moves as well as they knew their own. They moved in sync, back to back, shoulder to shoulder. Carmine’s blade blazed through the twenty-strong horde. Cerulean whisked monster’s away in her tailwind. 

And the monsters noticed this. 

Lavender would be able to tell anyone that half a battle is mental. Carmine’s confidence and Cerulean’s measured hope projected an air of complete assurance. And the monsters realized this. That, combined with the fact that the fight was different than their fellow monsters had described… well, the lines crumbled. A good number were felled by fear alone. The last few up and ran.   
“That’s right, you little buggers!” Carmine gasped, throwing a vulgar gesture in their direction with her good arm, “YoU bEtTeR RuN!”  
Cerulean managed a small smile, “Come over here and let me at least try to dress your wound properly, okay?”  
Carmine looked back, nodding with respect, “Okay.”  
Cerulean looked at the wound, “You bandaged it with your scarf?!?”  
“Heck yes I did!” Carmine proudly confirmed, “I think that’s why mine’s red. It’s very convenient. It won’t even really stain!”  
Cerulean sighed exasperatedly, but bandaged it anyway, “Lavender will have a fit about this you know.”  
“Even better!” Carmine smiled. 

There was a moment of silence, “I’m sorry about earlier.” Cerulean managed.  
“S’okay.” Carmine told her, “You worked it out. Plus I can vibe with verbal fights too. You needed it.”  
“This is all so strange.” Cerulean held her head, “One thing’s become very clear to me, though.”  
“Yeah?”  
“We can’t do this alone.” Cerulean sighed, “Let’s go find the others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cerulean: Okay so now that we have that worked out we should be able to have a nice, sane trip back...  
> Carmine: LET’S HUNT BEAR WITH OUR BARE HANDS hahahaah get it  
> Cerulean:   
> Cerulean: half of me wants to start screaming and the other half is accepting that this is probably what I should have expected


	5. Within The Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, takes place at about the same time as the last two chapters

Azure sighed. After the others had left, he’d sat down in the clearing, recuperating from the stomach pains. The feeling of being ripped apart. He felt lonely, exposed, vulnerable. Strangely empty inside. It didn’t help that the others had left. Though he’d agreed to the plan as much as any of them, he regretted it now, sitting alone in the clearing with only the nausea to keep him company. 

It will be better once I get back to the camp, he told himself. There will be the others there. It occurred to him that he’d been sitting there for awhile, and they’d probably started to worry about him. Miss him. Look for him. It was imperative that he got back as soon as possible. Didn’t want anybody asking TOO many questions, after all. They might stumble upon the truth of what had happened, and… he was convinced he didn’t want that. They’d probably think he’d gone crazy, and then? He shivered at the thought.

It occurred to him that it was perhaps a good thing that he’d gotten this stomach pain. Sickness would be a good excuse for his irritability, and why he hadn’t been able to reach the others. Not to mention why he’d been held up getting to the battle.

He heaved himself to his feet with a struggle, marking where the smoke of Wild’s cookpot was breaking through the trees. Groaning, he shoved his knees underneath him and willed himself upwards. He’d get back to camp somehow. He wouldn’t be the one to let them all down.

The walk back to the camp was a blur. Azure dimly remembered repeating to himself ‘keep going’ ‘push through’ ‘keep going’ as a mantra of sorts to keep his aching form mobile. He supposed he had managed, because here he was in the camp. Staring at the other heroes. About to pass out.

“Warriors?” Time began, “You- where have you been? Are you okay?”  
Azure shook his head, then crumpled to the ground and vomited again.   
“You’re sick!” Sky exclaimed with concern, “Oh no... Hyrule, can you do something about this? Oh, why didn’t you tell us you weren’t feeling well...”  
Azure tried to think of a response- something Cerulean would say to sound noble and self-sacrificing- but he couldn’t muster it. “It hurts.” he mumbled instead, cursing himself for the comment. 

Hyrule shuffled around, grabbing a few potions, leaves, and other healing implements before kneeling next to him. Azure felt himself being pushed into a lying position, but he didn’t complain.   
“That’s strange...” Hyrule murmured as Azure slipped out of consciousness, “It doesn’t seem like there should be anything wrong with him... no clear signs of sickness... but...” 

…

For the second time in a few days, Azure woke feeling empty. The others weren’t here, he reminded himself, he was alone. Alone in the camp. There was a blanket cast over him, dull and scratchy, and he realized… really REALIZED where he was. There was a cool cloth over his forehead, and he gulped back some bile in his throat. How was he supposed to protect the others, watch after them, in this state? 

“Hey!” Hyrule called chipperly, having noticed he was up, “You’re awake! You gave us quite a scare there, though. Thankfully your sickness broke last night, but I haven’t been able to figure out what was wrong with you yet... either way, I’m glad you’re okay.”  
Azure prickled at the pity. He didn’t want it, so he tried to change the subject, “Where are the others?” he tried to keep his voice even, inquisitive, concerned... but somehow it still managed to sound bitter echoing from his lips. 

Hyrule blanched, “They’re out. Don’t worry about them. Rest.”   
Azure shoved himself up. He wasn’t about to be babied today. If he was well enough to be awake, he could do something. That was what the others expected him to do, after all. 

“I said you need to rest!” Hyrule protested as Azure shoved himself up and started putting his boots back on.   
“No,” Azure sniped, “I have to do something, not sit here and be a useless runt.”   
Hyrule gaped at him. Unbeknownst to Azure, he’d been sitting there all night, looking after him. And he’d almost heard the ‘like you’ that Azure had bitten back. 

Azure shoved himself back into his armour, relieved at the protest his body gave. It distracted him from everything he was feeling.

He was almost dressed when a fist slammed into the tree he’d been propping himself up on. “Where, precisely,” Time demanded rather angrily, “Do you think you’re going?”   
Azure didn’t answer, dropping his eyes and biting his tongue. He couldn’t let loose here. Couldn’t be himself here. They’d know right away if he started acting like he wanted to, letting his tongue be free.   
“Aren’t you even going to say anything?” Twilight asked, dropping a bundle of wood next to the base of a tree, “You’ve been acting weird for almost a week now. Then we find out you were somehow super sick and didn’t tell anyone? What’s wrong with you? This isn’t the Captain we know.”

No, Azure stopped himself from saying, I’m not. I’m just all the pieces you don’t like.

“This is enough.” Time pounded his fist against the bark again, “It’s been hard right now, and we need each other more than anything. So you’re on camp rest until you... I don’t know. Either sort out whatever’s going on or talk to us about it.”  
“That’s not fair!” Azure couldn’t hold himself back any longer, “Give me a few hours and I can still fight as well as any of you!”  
“Yes,” Twilight began, “But we’re not sure we can entirely trust you to be on your game or watch us right now.”  
“So that’s it huh? A little sickness and suddenly you can’t trust me?” Azure narrowed his eyes, “I see how it is.”  
“That’s not what he meant, Warriors!” Sky cried, “And you know it!”   
“Know what?” Azure growled, “Know that something goes wrong, I get a stomachache, and suddenly I’m isolated from all of you? Dangerous? Untrustworthy? It’s like you think I‘m just a step away from going off the rails or something. Have you all started taking bets on ‘when the Captain’s going to lose it’?”  
“Stop being a shit.” Wind harrumphed, “It’s not just the stomachache, it’s this. You being so horrible.”

Azure paused. For a moment, it felt like his armour- the set he’d just so carefully put on- had been pierced and was falling off of him. He choked on his next flame-filled words. He’d known it all along. Known the others never loved him... not like this. They loved Cerulean and Lavender and even Carmine for fighting for them. They loved the kindness, the intelligence. And he had nothing to offer them. He was the useless half, the spitfire. 

Well, he was more than that. But he wasn’t ready to admit the other part yet.

But it was there, and that other part is what made him take a step back, and let the shoulder piece he’d been attaching to himself fall off as he shuffled away. “Fine.” his voice was a whisper, “I’ll stop bothering you then.”

…

Legend had been out collecting wood with Twilight. His arms were sore, and he struggled to catch up to the ranch boy as he’d confidently strode ahead through the forest. At some point along the way, Legend had been left behind. He’d resorted to the power bracelets in an effort to carry the wood he’d collected (which was entirely too much for him, but he hadn’t wanted to admit that to Twilight). Still, it took him a while to get back to camp. He cursed his pride and unwillingness to admit he needed help.   
The point of this all, is that Legend only heard bits and pieces of the argument. But he arrived in camp just as Azure shuffled out drearily. And for a moment, the two men’s eyes met. Azure looked away, not wanting to get it from Legend after what he’d just heard. Legend just sat there, mouth agape, dumbly. And had Azure held his gaze, he would have seen something strange in his rival’s eyes. 

Understanding. 

…

Azure shuffled off, pulling himself to the outer edges of camp. Far enough away that he could be alone, but not far enough that he’d be harassed by Time for leaving. He felt numb, but his mind was already swirling with bitterness. Why do I care, he wondered, it’s not like I need them. I can do just fine by myself. 

He was amusing himself thinking of all the retorts he could have said (all the ways he could have cut into them for cutting into him) when he first felt it. His hand pulsed. A flash of pain, sudden, abrupt. A flash of pain that left just as fast as it had come. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying out. He didn’t want the others back on him, not now. He pulled off his glove, hoping to relieve some of the pressure. 

The Triforce on his hand was glowing angrily. 

“Ugh.” Azure hissed at it, “This is stupid. Why do I get it, out of all of us? I’m not even ‘the hero’. Yeah, sorry about that... not having courage anymore. Go ahead, get mad at me. Everyone else is. Or better yet, use that stupid power you’re supposed to have and fix this.” 

The Triforce pulsed again, then lay silent. 

“I thought so.” Azure slipped his glove back on, trying to forget about what had just happened.

He eventually wandered back to camp, noticing that everyone became silent when he approached. It was fine. It wasn’t like he wanted to talk anyway.

“Did you have a good time moping, pretty boy?” Legend asked nonchalantly, somehow managing to shove a spoonful of soup into his mouth with attitude.   
“Don’t call me that.” he managed back quietly. Pretty boy wasn’t him, that was Lavender. He was just the butthole.   
“A-are you feeling better?” Hyrule asked slowly.   
“Sure.” Azure replied back, “My stomach is fine.”   
“Yes...” Hyrule ventured further, pushing, “But are you okay?”  
Azure didn’t respond, and busied himself taking a bowl and filling it with some soup. He was hungry after losing most of his lunch and breakfast and previous day’s dinner.   
“Hyrule asked you a question, dipshit.” Legend emphasized, “You should at least answer.”   
“What, and be SOOO polite?” Azure spat, “Like you, for example?”

Everyone paused, afraid that Azure was going to explode on everyone again.

“Do as I say, not as I do.” Legend responded.  
“So I should frig off again?” Azure raised an eyebrow, “You tell me to do that a lot.”  
“You can frig off as much as you want as soon as you answer ‘Rule’s question. Just leave some food for the rest of us.”  
Azure had been scooping quite a bit of soup on account of his hunger, “There’s nothing in my stomach. I’m hungry. I’d be happy to give you a stomachache and then see if you’re complaining as much.”   
“I don’t think that anyone can complain as much as you.”  
“I guess it’s true what they say about self-awareness.” Azure looked thoughtful, “It’s very hard to develop, isn’t it? Look in the mirror, and you’ll see who’s the best at complaining.”  
Legend burst out laughing. “Well haven’t you gotten more spicy? I guess all it took was a stomachache to make you develop some actual wit.”  
“Oh no, I have plenty.” Azure sniped back, “I just wasn’t tired enough to waste it on someone of your intelligence before.”   
Legend laughed harder, “Sit down shithead, and eat your soup. You need your energy.”   
Azure sat, “Why do you care?”  
“Well you can’t be a good verbal sparring partner if you’re too hungry to think.” Legend grinned, “Fuel up, because I got plenty of ammo.” 

The rest of the group stared dumbfounded as Legend and Azure sat back to back and both began eating. None of them were sure what to make of that interaction, and for many it was even more of a red flag. But Legend had seemed fine with it, so no one said anything.

In the next few days, Azure felt himself getting more and more isolated. As much as he tried, (He really did.) he couldn’t manage to interact with anybody constructively. And every time he tried to offer to do something, tried to make himself useful, it just came out harsh and scraping. And so the others recoiled away from him. Well except for Legend, who hadn’t liked him much before... so there wasn’t a difference there. 

And the more Azure felt harsh inside, the harsher he was outside. He didn’t know how else to be. The words, the ‘spice’. It was really only a defence mechanism. He was scared. 

And he didn’t even realize how much. 

The Triforce pulses had gotten more frequent. Azure saw it as a punishment. He wasn’t good enough to be the holder of the hero’s spirit. He wasn’t courageous enough. He wasn’t enough.

And this is what Azure would never admit to himself. He was the part that was empty. He was the crippling insecurity, the impostor’s syndrome, the boy who’d been risen too high too fast because of a mark on his hand. He was the one who’d been tormented by Cia. 

Azure wasn’t bad. He just stuck first to cope. Because he was convinced that everyone would stop loving him at some point anyway, so it was better if he cut them off before they broke him. But the loneliness also broke him.

He was a child, deep down. He just wanted to be loved. But the world had scraped him so much that he didn’t know how to love, or how to be loved anymore. Just how to be difficult. 

So the others drifted further away because they didn’t know how to deal with this part of Warriors. A part that Warriors had never let them see before. A part that had never been alone with his insecurities before. And Azure drifted further into the darkness.

...

Sky sighed, “I just don’t know what’s happening. And I don’t know how to interact with him anymore. He seems so... DIFFERENT.”   
Four was beating on a stump with his forging mallet. (Or more accurately, a sword that was currently burning a hole in said stump.) “I know what you mean. It’s strange.”  
~I wonder whatever could have gotten into our friend~ Violet pondered from inside Four’s skull ~He’s been at camp with us the entire time. If an outside force was affecting him, you’d think we’d know.~  
~We need to find some way to help him!~ Red emphasized, ~He’s our friend!~  
~Yeah...~ Blue growled, ~But he’s being a turd about it! Like, actively being angry with our help. We can’t... make him better when he’s fighting us the whole time.~  
~Blue’s right.~ Green sighed, ~He has to want and accept our help. But I... I don’t know. It hurts seeing him like...~

“...Four?” Sky asked, causing the voices in the smith’s head to fade out and him to fade back into reality, “Did you hear what I was saying?”  
“Oh, sorry.” Four sighed, “I got lost in my thoughts and the rhythm of the hammer. You were saying?”  
“I don’t think... it’s purely mental, what’s happening.” Sky shook his head, “I mean, when he was acting weird at the beginning... the night we were telling stories, you remember?... I watched him that evening and when he woke up I swore his eyes were green. And Wild said he saw a bit of red the night before when I asked him. And I’m like ‘I totally thought they were purple’! So Wind checked and they’re BLUE now and it’s like... what?”

Four stopped hammering. Stopped thinking. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.   
“No...” he breathed.

…

A bit before, Azure had been sitting in camp, chopping logs for the fire that evening.  
“Warriors.” Time said evenly, “We need to talk.”  
Azure closed his eyes, wishing this conversation would just go away. It didn’t. So he forced a tired response out, “Time. What do you want?” As usual it came out harsher that he’d intended.   
“I just want to talk, relax. I’m not angry. I’m just... really scared.” there was genuine concern in Time’s eyes, “Really. You’re scaring us. That’s it, don’t you see? It’s not that we don’t trust you. We just care about you, and this... not knowing what’s happening? It’s really scary. We just want to know you’re okay.”  
“Do I look okay?” Azure asked sarcastically, but without malice.   
“No.” Time replied solidly, “That’s why I’m sitting here, asking you to tell me what’s going on. You’re my friend. And you knew me as a child. Let me help you, like you used to help me.”  
Azure hugged himself, “I’m not that person right now.”   
“But you are!” Time put a hand on Azure’s shoulder, “You’ve always been!”  
“But I’m not!” Azure demanded, tears welling in his eyes. He wanted more than anything to accept this right now, to melt into the old man’s embrace and sob. But he knew- deep down- the love was false. It was Cerulean who’d hugged the young boy with the masks when he’d had nightmares, and who’d rolled her eyes at the snipes he’d given her in the mornings. Time had never even met Azure before. Most everyone hadn’t. He was the piece that had been buried the farthest down.   
“Why- no, how- could you think that?” Time demanded, “Please. Just come back to us.” 

And his hand pulsed. And Azure screamed inside. He’d never been with them. He’d always been removed, even when he’d been within Warriors. He couldn’t stay here, couldn’t be here like this. It was all a lie. Just a play. He didn’t belong here. He didn’t belong. 

The other parts were better without him.  
The group would be better without him.

So he did what he always did. He struck first, “You’ve never seen this part of me before. How can you claim to know me, to want me, when you balk so much at a part of who I am?” the words burned his throat, “You don’t love me like this. And I-“ he forced the next part out, telling himself it would be easier this way, “And you know what, I don’t really care. About any of that. About you. I’ll leave now, and you guys can enjoy your camaraderie. I’ll be off doing important things without you losers.”  
Time balked, “You... you can’t go. The forest is infested with monsters! And I know... Hylia help me Warriors, I know you’re lying. You better be lying.”  
Azure met Time’s eye, “Do I look like I’m lying?”  
“No.” Time looked destroyed. 

“Then I’m going.”   
“Just...” Time choked on the words, “Be safe, okay? And figure this all out, somehow.” 

Azure didn’t start crying until he was a fair distance away.

Time went back to camp looking shell-shocked.   
“Where’s Warriors?” Twilight asked, “Did you talk to him?”  
“He’s gone.” Time whispered, as if making the words quieter would make them less true, “He’s gone, cub.”   
Legend’s eyes widened, and he pushed himself to his feet, sprinting out of camp before anyone could stop him. 

…

Azure forced himself to keep stepping forwards, to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He told himself it would be better if he left. He was the part no one wanted anyway. He could go off, join some bandits maybe. Somebody who wouldn’t mind his crude nature. It would be better for them, for him. Everything would be better.  
He forced himself to step forewords again. 

A crackling of leaves from behind him. 

Almost as soon as Azure had spun around, Legend slammed into a tree next to him.  
“Crap!” he cursed, brushing himself off, “I’ve gotten rusty with these Pegasus Boots.” 

“What are YOU doing here?” Azure asked scornfully. He was the last person Azure had wanted to see right now.   
“To call you on your- ugh- crap.” Legend groaned, rubbing his muscles, which were sore from meeting the tree entirely too forcefully, “This whatever running away brooding thing you’re doing... it’s going to be the worst mistake of your life.”   
“You don’t know me.” Azure began to stalk off.  
“Yeah I do, actually.” Legend scowled, “Because you’ve been pulling the same crud over the past week that I usually do.”  
Azure paused, turning around with confusion in his eyes.  
“Yeah, that’s right! I know what it’s like to be an asshole, asshole.” Legend scoffed, “And I know that I’ve been on too many adventures and it... FINE I’LL SAY IT... it hurts. And I know that the way I cope with that sometimes is putting up walls and being a shit and I know that that doesn’t really work either.”  
Azure was too shocked to speak.   
“So you can stop trying to push people away and say this isn’t what it’s about because I know. I know you’re lying. Because I’ve told myself the same lie.”   
Azure stopped completely. His mind. His body. Just. Stopped. For a moment. 

“What.”

“Oh boy, I’m already regretting saying that.” Legend groaned, “Now just tell me what’s going on and we can go back and you can apologize and things can start to get better.”   
Azure paused. Legend was right (something he never thought he’d say). He couldn’t hold it in any longer. Tears continued to slip down his cheeks. He opened his mouth, “Legend, I...” 

Azure’s hand exploded in pain. He collapsed to the ground, agonized. Legend rushed over, exclaiming, “What the heck?”   
Azure couldn’t respond. He was too overwhelmed by the white-hot pain coursing through his fingertips and paralyzing his arm. He frantically pulled off his glove, hoping it would relieve some of the pressure. 

His Triforce piece was glowing frantically. But it wasn’t glowing yellow. Instead, it had started to turn a sickly purple at the edges. Azure’s eyes widened. The pain hadn’t been a punishment after all. And he could feel something sickly starting to take root in him. He immediately knew what it was.  
“Ganon...” Azure murmured, “Ganon.” he seized again in pain, “Legend... you need to go. I c-c-can’t fight...”   
Legend grabbed his hand, looking for himself at the sickly Triforce. “How?”  
Azure shook his head. He wasn’t sure exactly himself. And he wasn’t exactly in a position to think about it right now. Not through the blinding pain.   
“Legend...” he coughed, “You need to go. I won’t be able to hold it off. I’m not e-enough. Need... the others...”  
“I have no clue what you’re talking about, but I’m not leaving.” Legend stated stubbornly, wrapping Azure in his arms as the monsters surrounded them and hit Azure on the head and the world went blessedly black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legend: Oh look, he’s acting more like me. He must be depressed


	6. Would You Like Some Colours With Your Colours?

As soon as Sky had mentioned the eye colour changes, Four’s mental gears had started turning. His brain was firing on all cylinders as the colours (mostly Violet) shuffled the pieces together inside his brain. 

The attack.  
Being knocked down.  
His sword clattering to the ground.  
Warriors intervening.  
His hand wrapping around the Four Sword.  
The.  
Four.  
Sword. 

~I don’t even understand how this could happen!~ Green screamed hysterically ~The sword is still affecting us! How could it affect two people at the same time?~  
~I thought we fixed it when we defeated Vaati…~ Red seemed close to tears ~So it wouldn’t split or hurt anyone else…~   
~I think the very obvious point that everyone seems to be missing is that there should be FOUR.~ Violet commented ~So where are the other three then?~  
~I don’t know.~ Blue admitted, about to explode, ~But when we find him- any of him- I’m hitting them all with a hammer.~  
Four had taken off running as soon as the shock of the discovery had worn off. He’d even left his half-finished billet smoking in the stump. Desperately he ran, needing to find Warriors… the blue one, he supposed… needing to explain things. He hadn’t expected any of this to ever happen. Perhaps he should have told the group about the sword. Maybe then he would have known better than to touch it. 

But it was too late to worry about that now. He had to help his friend. He knew what he’d felt when he’d first split… and if Warriors was dealing with that now? All alone? Of course he’d be moody. Of course he’d be confused. 

He reached the main camp quickly, having lost Sky somewhere on the way. He was breathing heavy now, but ignored it. “Which way did Warriors go?” Four asked Time, who was sitting dejectedly at the fire.   
Time sighed, closing his good eye, “He clearly didn’t want to come back, and Legend already went after him. Why are you asking?”  
Four pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes, “I know what’s been going on with him.”  
Time’s eye bolted open, “What?!? How?”  
“He… touched a magical item… of mine... didn’t think... it would affect anyone else… why I didn’t realize... need to find him…” Four gasped out between heaving breaths.   
“How.. how did you figure this out?” Time inquired, still skeptical.  
“Sky was telling me he thought it was more than just being off, and that he could see some physical effects.” Four managed, “And what he said was consistent… consistent with what this item does.” The topic was making Four highly uncomfortable, and he sighed in frustration. ~It will have to come out now, our secret. ~ Green reminded. Four still wasn’t how exactly it all worked or how to describe his unique reality, but he’d have to try. For Warrior’s sake. “I’ll explain more later. But we have to find him first. He… he’s probably very confused right now.”   
Time nodded, “Okay. If you really think you can help him. He went this way.” 

Four caught his breath for a few moments, then took off running. Time followed, lagging slightly behind. Violet supposed it was out of nervousness. Clearly there had been a significant argument between Time and Blue Warriors.  
~That sounds so weird.~ Blue groaned, ~I don’t like it…~   
~Perhaps he's made… names… for his own selves. To sort things out.~ Red ventured ~That really helped us sort things out at the beginning…~   
~We can ask him AFTER we find him.~ Green emphasized, ~Let’s focus on that for now.~

Four couldn’t tell how long he’d been running when he finally stumbled into the area they were looking for. It was pretty obvious a scuffle had occurred. There was a Legend-size imprint in one of the trees. One of the man’s rings had been tossed into a bush. 

That wasn’t the alarming part.

No, if Legend and Blue Warriors had scuffled angrily, he wouldn’t have been surprised. But something about the scene told him something else had happened. Maybe it was the spot of blood and golden hair in the middle of the path. Maybe it was the blue scarf scrap that had snagged on a thistle.   
Time caught up to Four, and looked around. “Dear Hylia…” he gasped, “What happened here?”   
Four bent down, fingers dipping into the pool of black blood at his feet, “They were attacked. And I think the monsters captured them, too.” 

…

Lavender pushed his way through some trees. He could almost see the camp now. Azure would be there. He hated springing in on himself after they agreed to keep… whatever had happened… hush hush. But he wasn’t sure where else to go. Failing at home, failing Artemis… he was ashamed. And didn’t have another place to turn. Perhaps he could still find some way to be useful here. 

“Lavender!” Hearing a voice, he spun, coming face to face with Cerulean, who was booting it through the underbrush towards him. Carmine was there too.   
“What... how…?” he gasped, flustered, “I didn’t expect to see you here!”  
“Yeah, didn’t go well for you either, did it?” Carmine ventured, “Boss lady thinks it’s because we need each other.”  
“We do!” Cerulean emphasized, “We’re only parts. I think we function better together. So we were coming back, and saw the portal open… it was big and flashy… so we came to find you, thinking you’d probably come back.”  
“I did.” Lavender sighed, “I was going to go back to camp and find Azure. I wasn’t sure where you two would be.”   
“That’s what we were going to do, too.” Carmine sighed, “But I’d prefer to be stabbing monsters again.”  
“We should find Azure, and then figure things out from there.” Cerulean stated definitively, “I’m sure we’ll know what to do when we’re together.”   
“I’m not sure that’s how it…” Lavender began, before being shushed by Carmine.  
“No plan is good.” Carmine emphasized, “We don’t always need a super detailed plan.”   
“But!” Lavender protested.  
“No buts!” Carmine cooed, “Unless you want to be knocked on yours!” 

And so they commenced walking to camp together. Lavender got more skittish the closer they got. It would be so strange, having to explain why there were four of them now. He didn’t even really know why himself. And Azure would be upset. He wasn’t good at explaining or navigating these emotionally-charged things.   
But there was no alternative. 

He heard a twig snap, and jumped. “Someone’s coming!” he hissed to Carmine and Cerulean. “You two should hide. It will be easier to explain if it’s just me at first.”  
Cerulean looked at Carmine worriedly, who shrugged back. She looked at Lavender, “You sure about this?” she asked.  
“Yes.” Lavender lied.  
The two girls retreated to a tree, concealing themselves in the foliage. If Lavender hadn’t known they were there, he wouldn’t have been able to spot them. He almost couldn’t see them even though he DID know where they were. He dimly wondered if they’d done this before. 

True enough to his impulse, there HAD been someone coming. Lavender looked up as Twilight broke though the clump of bushes, a bundle of wood in his arms. The ranch boy stopped as soon as he saw Lavender, expression completely changing.   
“What are YOU doing here?!?” Twilight demanded, “Trying to slink back to camp? AFTER what you said to the Old Man?”  
Lavender choked, “What?”  
“Is that ALL you have to say for yourself?” Twilight looked positively furious.  
Clearly Azure has been causing some fireworks around camp. Lavender took a breath and composed himself, “No, o-of course not.” he tried to look repentant, “I am sorry for whatever inevitably horrible thing A- I mean I- must have said.”  
Twilight didn’t seem impressed, “It’s not a little thing you know. I haven’t seen Time that upset. And that’s all? That’s it? You can’t even say anything about what you did? Just some generalized half-ass apology? You’re acting like you don’t even REMEMBER!”

“He doesn’t.” Four gasped, breaking into the clearing with Time hot on his heels. He’d been running around frantically, trying to find at least one piece of his friend.   
“W- what?” Twilight stammered, “What do you mean?” 

~Purple scarf~ Violet commented, ~We’re talking to a different one now.~ 

Four’s patience had dissolved with his energy, and he got straight to the point, “Where are the other three?”  
Lavender blanched, “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Then why is your scarf suddenly a different colour?” Four asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“I- um- well I -uh- I DYED IT!” Lavender stumbled.  
“Yeah, sure.” Time put a hand to his face, “With what?”  
“Uh- a MUSHROOM!” Lavender burst out, and then started rambling nonsensically. Carmine cringed from her position in the tree, “Darn it Lavender, you’re supposed to be THE SMART ONE.” she quietly hissed to the open air.  
“Stop playing crap.” Four snapped, “There’s four of you. Where. Are. The. Other. Three?”  
Cerulean’s eyes widened. She suddenly realized that Four clearly knew what was going on. And he probably knew how to fix it. They’d come back for answers. Perhaps he had them. And if she’d learned anything, it was that they couldn’t do things alone. It was time to trust someone else.  
“Sorry.” she told Carmine pleasantly, then pushed her out of the tree.

Carmine hit the forest floor with a thud, getting everyone’s attention. She got up quickly, shaking her fist at the tree, “YOU PIECE OF CRAP!” she screamed, “COME DOWN HERE AND FIST FIGHT ME YOU LITTLE-“ she paused as she suddenly realized everyone was looking at her. “Um, hello...?”   
Four blinked, “You’re female.”   
“Yeah, so?” Carmine put her hands on her hips, “IS THAT A PROBLEM?”   
Four laughed, “Well, no. Just… just different I suppose. Than me, I mean.”  
Cerulean jumped out of the tree, landing gracefully on the ground like a soft breeze, “You clearly know what’s going on.” she looked at Four, “Some explanation would be most appreciated…”  
Four nodded,”Of course. But first… where’s the fourth one?”  
Cerulean sighed, “We don’t know. He was supposed to be with you.”  
“Darn it.” Four hissed, “I’d hoped you’d have found him.”  
“Why?” Lavender finally managed through his frazzlement.  
“We found… a battle scene.” Time started slowly, still concerned and very confused, “There was stuff from both Warriors… a Warriors?... and Legend. We think they were captured by the monsters.”  
“Oh no.” Cerulean’s expression crumpled, “I… no. We should have never left him here alone. This is all my fault.”  
“It was all our plan.” Lavender reminded her, “We’re all responsible.”   
“Cough cough, hate to remind people, but WE’RE STILL OWED AN EXPLANATION!” Carmine pointed at Four, “Spill, tiny boy.”  
“Call me that again and I’ll take your kneecaps.” Four frowned, “And as for an explanation… I don’t really know… I suppose I should just show you.” 

Four pulled out his sword, holding it to the sky and pulling on the shards of himself. A bright flash echoed throughout the clearing, and when it had faded, there was not a single person standing there. Instead, four colours stood proudly together, swords held to the sky so that they formed a pyramid with each other.   
Red tried to step out of the formation and immediately tripped. “I forgot how weird it is having a body.” he explained, embarrassed, “It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”

“What.” Time and Twilight said at almost the same time, brains blown by the seven copies of their friends that were suddenly standing in the clearing. 

“It’s rather interesting that you manifested female colours.” Violet pondered this, “Perhaps it says something about you as a person… I guess the sword was more powerful than we all thought. And particular. It must manifest entirely different forms for different people.”   
Blue immediately socked the closest of Warriors colours in the knee (which happened to be Lavender) who cried out, “Hey! What was that for?”  
“For being an idiot and not telling us anything.” Blue crossed his arms, “We could have helped you a whole lot sooner if you’d just told someone.”   
“Excuse me… Four?... Four Fours?” Time ventured slowly, “But what in sweet Faore’s name is going on?”   
Green stepped up, “Well, it’s the sword, you see. Our sword… the Four Sword… it was corrupted, so when I drew it the second time it split me into four pieces. I didn’t realize it could affect others though, on top of me.”  
“So…” Twilight started slowly, “You’re actually four different people?”   
“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but basically yes.” Violet replied.   
“Well that would have been nice to know a whole lot sooner.” Cerulean sighed, “As for telling people, I’d imagine you didn’t mention this before for the exact same reason we decided not to mention it.” 

The colours grew silent.

“Perhaps it WAS a mistake.” Green sighed, “It’s just… it’s so very hard to explain. And really weird for a lot of people to deal with.”  
“We’re sorry it hurt you.” Red looked sad, “We never meant for one of you guys to have to deal with… all this.”  
“Is… is there anything we can do about this?” Lavender ventured, “Or... or will we just be stuck like this forever? You seem to be… and we don’t… necessarily want that...”  
Blue harrumphed, “I’ll pretend not to take offence to that and answer your question. We chose to carry the sword afterwards, and besides it was more corrupted back then. I don’t know for sure, but I’m pretty sure we can get you back to normal if we return to our Hyrule. Four’s Hyrule? Yeah. That.”   
Carmine pumped her fist in the air, “Great! Let’s go!”  
“But we’ll need ALL of you.” Violet cut the celebration short, “Until we find your Blue, we won’t be able to do anything.”   
“Our blue?” Cerulean ventured slowly, “Do... do you mean Azure?”   
“Azure?!?” Blue burst out wheezing, “By Din, that’s so pretentious.”   
“Excuse me,” Lavender took offence, “What do you call YOURSELF?”  
“I’m Green.” Green introduced, “Red’s over there and the one harassing you is Blue. Violet is the thoughtful one.”   
“So you just went… Red, Green, Blue and VIOLET?” Cerulean seemed confused, “What about just Purple?”  
“He’s the black sheep.” Blue explained.  
“HeY.” Violet protested.  
Red quickly changed the subject, “What do you call each other?”   
Cerulean bowed, “I’m Cerulean. Carmine is the angry one, and Lavender is the one with a sore kneecap. The one that was with you before is Azure.”   
Time looked sad upon the mention of Azure, remembering the argument “How… how does all of this work? Do you guys share… emotions?”  
“If what you’re asking is do we feel the same way as what Azure suggested to you, the answer is no.” Cerulean wrapped Time in a hug, which he seemed awkward in, “We have some of the same general feelings, but we’re each just… parts of the whole. And Azure is the snarky and confused part. He didn’t mean what he said.”   
“That’s true.” Green confirmed, “The Four Sword splits people along elemental lines into four separate parts, each a piece of their personality. Which begs the question, which parts are you?”  
“Strategy and style.” Lavender pointed to himself, then to Carmine, “Stabbing instinct.” and then to Cerulean, “Leadership. And Cerulean already basically summed up Azure.”   
“Yeah.” Cerulean fluffed Time’s hair, “So you don’t have to worry about whatever Azure said, because it’s not true. That’s not how we feel. We still care about you.”   
Time smiled slowly, relieved. He leaned a little more into Cerulean’s hug. “You’ll forgive me if this isn’t a little weird though, Captain.”   
“Of course. It’s weird for me too, don’t worry.” Cerulean laughed.  
“So what now?” Twilight asked, breaking the silence, “How do we… how do we start to fix this?”  
“Isn’t it obvious?” Red asked, “We need to find Azure! And bring him home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time: well we just almost doubled our hero count, that should help with the monsters and make things easier  
> Twilight: are you sure this is a good thing?  
> Time:   
> Twilight: 
> 
> *gremlin screeching in the background*
> 
> Time: not for my sanity, no  
> Twilight:  
> Time: *sipping his fourth coffee of the day* but we all make sacrifices


	7. Prison Thoughts

Legend pushed his back against the hard stone wall, groaning. The monsters had done a number on him before they’d unceremoniously dumped him and Wars into the cold stone cell. Legend’s lip was bloodied, the side of his face starting to bruise, his ribs aching in his chest. He felt as if he’d been run over by a Goron mine cart.

But that was nothing compared to the Captain. 

Warriors was still unconscious, but his fingers were splayed out in a position of desperate agony. Every few moments, he shook and the dark energy from his hand made an effort to push itself further up the man’s arm. Legend had no idea what was happening, but seeing his normally-strong and confident companion in this state sent him to shivers. Wars looked reduced somehow. Stripped. And vulnerable. 

Legend peeled himself off of the wall, bundling his companion into his arms. Lifting him from where he had been lying, alone in the middle of the stone-cold floor. Legend shuffled back to the wall, gasping from the pain. His back slid into the cobble with the last bit of effort from his legs. Legend tucked his arm under the Captain’s neck, making sure his head wasn’t bent backwards uncomfortably. With the other hand, Legend clasped the palm that hadn’t yet sickened.   
“I don’t know what’s happening.” Legend whispered to the empty air, staring at the unconscious Captain in his lap, “But you will not suffer alone.” 

…

Azure woke many hours later. He blinked, trying to clear the blur from his vision. A wave of pain shot up his arm, and his mouth opened, head tilting back in a soundless scream. Tears started sliding down his cheeks.   
“Easy.” he heard a voice say, “You’re… shit I don’t know how to be comforting... you’re going t-to get through this, okay? You’ve got to.”  
The quaver in the man’s voice told Azure that he didn’t quite believe what he said, and the darkness closed in again. Azure violently shook, and then was still.

Sleeping again.

…

The next time he awoke, Azure’s vision was a bit clearer. He blinked and looked up at the face staring down at him, “...Legend?” he asked, confused. His memory was still fuzzy.  
“Yeah.” Legend replied, “How we holding up?”  
“Y...you look like crap.” Azure managed.  
Legend laughed mirthlessly, “So do you.”   
Azure’s eyes started to close again.

“So do you.” Legend said again, a hint of sadness in his voice as his companion’s head settled back into his arms. 

…

Azure woke up screaming, the pain fire in his arm. His breath hissed in and out desperately, as if trying to pump some semblance of respite into his lungs.   
“Stop,” Legend hissed at him, “For Hylia’s sake, stop that! You’re going to hyperventilate!”   
Azure’s chest continued to heave.  
Legend panicked, jamming his hand over Azure’s mouth. Azure looked up, trying to draw air in again, tears slipping down his cheeks. He met the man’s ravaged eyes, full of worry and pain and desperation and hopelessness. Legend slowly slid his hand down, and Azure took another gasping breath. He forced the breaths in and out evenly, whimpering.   
Legend breathed a sigh of relief.

They sat like that for a while, the strained hiss of breath the only sound that dared interrupt the silence. After a while, Legend pressed his head back against the wall, looking up at the grey roof and closing his eyes, “What is this, Captain?” he asked slowly.  
“Ganon.” Azure managed.  
“I know tha-“ Legend began rather harshly, then stopped himself and continued in a more even tone, “Yeah okay, but how?”  
“It...” Azure put what little amount of brainpower he could manage towards the question, “It got my part of my Triforce once. Perhaps it left an imprint of sorts.”   
“But why NOW then?” Legend asked, “Why not activate it when you’d first gotten it back or whatever?”  
Azure furrowed his brow, “I don’t kno-“ his eyes widened, “Oh.”   
“Warriors, you better tell me what on Din’s sweet earth is going on or I swear to Faore…” Legend began dangerously.  
“Don’t call me that, I’m not Warriors…” Azure sniped. He looked up at the man’s concerned eyes. Closed his own. Afraid to share this secret and afraid not to.   
Azure relented, “I suppose it doesn’t matter now.”

So Azure told him. The voices, the split. Everything. It came out of him through fits and pain and shudders. Like a font, it all poured out through his broken voice. He explained the parts, who he was. He told Legend about the letters. He said everything, to the last person he’d ever thought he’d tell everything to.

“So Ganon waited until you were alone, then pounced.” Legend gritted his teeth, “Of course. So what do I call you anyways, then?”  
“Azure.” gasped Azure, “Azure Warriors to be specific, but Azure is fin-.”   
“So you’re the part that’s like me then.” Legend sighed, “I knew it. I knew you’d looked different… that you’d gotten rough and scraping and pain-filled all of a sudden…” Legend looked back down after his companion didn’t reply, “Azure?”  
He was unconscious again.

…

When Azure woke up once more, he felt dull and empty. Drained. Like a person set on autopilot, devoid of feeling and meaning and purpose. He pressed his face into Legend’s stomach, hoping to draw on some of the man’s strength and constancy to replace some of the virtue he’d never had. 

Azure couldn’t feel one of his arms now, and didn’t dare look to confirm what he feared. Ganon’s malice was spreading. It would be only a matter of time now before it hijacked him completely. And then he’d be no better than a monster, like a puppet of Ganon’s. Or a vessel for Ganon itself. He wasn’t sure what the beast intended for him, though it couldn’t be anything good.   
He sent an apology to the rest of himself. Hopefully they were safe and far away from here. He apologized for the fact they’d have to live alone. He apologized for the pain fighting him would cause them. He apologized for not being strong enough.

“That’s enough.” Legend told him.  
Azure pulled his head out of the man’s tunic, “What?”  
“That’s the face of someone who’s giving up.” Legend said, “You better not.”   
“There’s no point fighting.”   
“There’s every point.”   
“Nobody’s coming to save us.”  
“You think you’re just going to leave yourself to rot? I doubt your Cerulean would do that.”  
“But…”  
“No buts.”  
“I can’t keep going.”  
“You have to.”  
“How?”  
“Just hold on.”  
“I-I’ll try… but...”  
“Not buts, just ‘I’ll try’.”  
“I’ll try.”   
“Okay.”  
“Okay.”

…

The pain had faded from Azure’s arm, but he could still feel the progression of Ganon’s energy like a sort of distant rot. He was aware of it, but felt removed. It probably wasn’t a good sign, but he was glad for respite.   
“Tell me about something.” Legend said after a while.  
“What?” Azure studied the man’s face as if he’d just sprouted a second head.  
“I don’t know!” Legend burst out, “Something! Anything! I can’t just… it’s better than silently sitting here and wasting away.”   
Azure rolled his eyes, “Well that’s just great. I can’t think of anything, Legend. Sorry, but it’s hard to think about much else right now.”  
“Uh… what’s your Hyrule like?” Legend floundered.  
“Really? That’s all you got? I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about that before…” Azure replied with tired disappointment.   
“Alright fine, fine.” Legend rubbed his chin, “What about your friends… the companions… from other worlds right? Who were summoned to help you?”   
Azure looked up into the sky, “Well there were a few…” he thought back to those days, “One was the old man, actually. He’d kill me for telling you. But he was one of the ones pulled. Except he was small then.”  
Legend grinned, “You knew the old man when he was a little tot? What was he like?”  
“A little shit actually.” Azure grinned back, “Kind of like us.”   
Legend burst out laughing, “I- my gosh I can’t imagine it. This is Mr.’you-all-need-to-behave-and-act-like-heroes’ we’re talking about?” Legend laughed harder until he was howling in complete hysteria.   
Azure managed a couple of joyful wheezes, “Yup. There was also a king who was also a boat.”  
“I-what?” Legend continued laughing, “That doesn’t even make sense!”  
“Nope!” 

They continued talking, Azure getting heavier the more they conversated. He was aching, and tired, and hollow. His body was begging him to stop. “Legend, I need to sleep now.” Azure said after a while.  
The man’s expression changed, falling slightly, “Alright. Just come back, okay?”   
Azure nodded, drifting off with a small smile on his face. 

…

Azure was alone, the ground around was gas and he was standing on an island in the middle of it all. The air felt noxious to breathe and the very atmosphere made his skin crawl.   
Two eyes stared at him from above the gaseous prison. They were shining gold, greed and pain reflected in their glitteringly entrancing spheres. He didn’t need to be told to realize what he was looking at. The manifestation of all his suffering. The hero’s destiny. The one who twisted Cia into the thing that tormented him.

“Hello Ganon.” Azure said.

There was no reply, just a silence. But Azure knew what this meant. And he could almost hear the words ‘you’re almost mine’ come from the smoke and find his ears. 

…

When Azure woke up, his companion was asleep. He needed to get as far away from Legend as possible. Before Ganon took him over completely and he hurt his friend. Or worse. He tucked his numb arm closer to his body, pulling it into his chest. One of his eyes had started to see in darker tones, and he could view every nook and cranny of the dark cell vividly. That probably wasn’t a good sign either.  
With his good arm, he grabbed a nook in the floor and pulled himself out of Legend’s grip. With a groaning protest from the rest of his body, he reached his fingers out again and pulled himself further away. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Legend asked.  
“I thought…” Azure pulled himself further away, “You were asleep…”  
“I was.” Legend raised an eyebrow, “Until you started jostling me. Repeat original question.”  
“I need...” Azure tried to reach out again, but his arm cramped and he couldn’t manage another push, “Ganon almost has me. I have to get away from you…”  
“We’re locked in a cell together, Azure.” Legend sighed, “You really think it’s going to make any difference? Ganon wants it this way.”  
Azure rolled onto his back, “It has to! I can’t… I’ve already…” he started sobbing, rivers of pain running down his face, “It’s no use. I’m not strong enough.”  
Legend paused for a second, anger contorting his features, “Screw that. Screw you and whatever pity party thing you’re doing. For frick’s sake, even if you’re the weakest part of Warriors- if that is even true- you’re the strongest person I know.” Legend was screaming now, “THAT’S WHY I HATE YOU! Because you’ve been through the same destiny as all of us but you still managed to come out smug and self-important, loved by the people, the shining knight. Because it all seems that much easier for you. Because you still have your kingdom and your friends and all that you love.”  
Azure’s eyes widened in horror as the man continued.  
“Azure, I’m a fucking mess.” Legend screamed, “At my best I was an errand boy for the kingdom. At my worst I was a wanted criminal. At my worst I destroyed a whole island full of people that I love because I was restless and wanted nothing but to leave, when I should have realized that everything I wanted was there!” Legend grabbed Azure’s shoulders and lifted him up, shaking him, “You can’t just dissolve to Ganon right now. Because you were supposed to have it right. You were supposed to be the one with the whole heart. You were supposed to be the person I could be jealous of.” 

Azure and Legend looked at each other for a strained moment, seeing a lot more than each other’s eyes. 

“Legend.” Azure said, “If you think anyone goes through the hero’s destiny without being scarred, you’re an idiot. We just all have different ways of trying afterwards.”  
“Then try, damnit.” Legend started crying, “Try… they’re coming for us. They have to be.”  
“You don’t believe that any more than I do.”  
“Maybe I don’t.” Legend managed, “But I meant what I said, about you being strong.”  
Azure sighed as Legend dropped him gently down to a sitting position, “You mentioned an island full of people. That you destroyed.”  
Legend frowned deeply, snapping, “Yeah. What about it?”  
“It reminds me of a story one of my companions told me. A young girl. She liked singing, and seagulls. Said she came from a dream. She didn’t leave when the others did, because she was afraid that she would disappear now that the dream didn’t exist.” Azure looked at the bars, closing his eyes, “Told me to look for a Link when I left to go travel with you guys. Said they’d planned to leave the island together, and she’d told him to go around looking for ways to do it. Said she’d lost him when the dream had disappeared. Afraid she’d destroyed him forever.”  
Legend’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates, “M-Marin?”  
“Yeah.” Azure closed his eyes, “I didn’t think it would be you. She always talked about a sweet guy, who played when she sang and sat with her on the beach, talking about everything they’d do when they could finally leave. Sharing her dreams.”  
“That was a long time ago. A lot has happened since then.” Legend closed his eyes, “Do you think she’d like who I am now?”  
“You’re asking the wrong person.” Azure smiled sadly, “I don’t know how to love anymore.” 

There was another long silence.

“I’m glad to know she’s alive, but it feels kind of cruel. Like right now being when I find out.” Legend sighed, sitting back-to-back with Azure, “When I’m going to…”  
“Hey.” Azure managed, “Don’t give up yet.” he grabbed the man’s hand with his good one, “I won’t either. Not yet.” 

They sat like that, together. Back to back. Hands interlaced. Looking up at the sky for some hope and pressing spines together for some semblance of strength.   
“We just have to hold on a little longer.” Legend echoed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, you don’t get a meme at the end, you get to cry instead. >:D 
> 
> Jokes aside, I noticed we reached 100 kudos just after the last update, and I’d like to thank you guys. Whether you just read through it or scream at me every update in the comments (you know who you are), I appreciate that all of you have taken time out of your lives to give this story a try. And I hope you’ve laughed a little, cried a little, thought a little on the way. Whether you’re one of the people I tag on discord or you’ve found this on your own, THANK YOU!   
> And I hope you continue to enjoy yourselves on this little story journey. I do have the plotline planned now so :D. 
> 
> See you at the next update!


End file.
